SS ''Frosta'' was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

, built in 1961 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

by Bremer Vulcan and owned by A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. The ''Frosta'' was 664 feet in length, 90 feet in breadth, with a gross weight of 22,850 tons, and powered by a

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

engine, rated at 16,800 horsepower. It was rebuilt as a

chemical tanker A chemical tanker is a type of tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk. As defined in MARPOL Annex II, chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for carrying in bulk any liquid product listed in chapter 17 of the Internat ...

in 1971. It was decommissioned in 1979.

Ferry disaster

The MV ''George Prince'' ferry disaster occurred on the morning of 20 October 1976. The ferry '' George Prince'' was struck by the SS ''Frosta'', which was traveling upriver on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The collision occurred at mile post 120.8 above

Head of Passes Head of Passes is where the main stem of the Mississippi River branches off into three distinct directions at its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico: Southwest Pass (Mississippi River), Southwest Pass (west), Pass A Loutre (east) and South Pass (centre). ...

, less than three-quarters of a mile from the construction site of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that would replace the ferry 7 years later. The ferry was crossing from

Destrehan, Louisiana Destrehan is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. Etymology The community is named after Jean Noël Destréhan (1754–1823), who was twice President of ...

on the East Bank to

Luling, Louisiana Luling is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. The population was 11,512 at the 2000 census and 12,119 at the 2010 census. At the 2020 census, 13,716 people lived in Luling. Geography Luling is located at (29.913260 ...

on the West Bank. SS ''Frosta'' was sailing from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, on 4 October, bound for

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. Ninety-six passengers and crew were aboard the ferry when it was struck, and 78 people lost their lives.

External links

Defense Technical Information Center - Marine Casualty Report. SS FROSTA, M/V GEORGE PRINCE; Collision in the Mississippi River on 20 October 1976.
*NTSB Report Number: MAR-79-04, adopted on 3/22/1979: Luling Destrehan Ferry M/V George Prince Collision with the Tanker SS Frosta on the Mississippi River, 20 October 1976

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frosta, SS Maritime incidents in 1976 Tankers of Norway Ships built in Bremen (state) Steamships of Norway Chemical tankers Oil tankers 1960 ships